Bart: Free File and Folder Backup Software

Bart is a free folder and file backup application that is able to save multiple updates and changes from source directory trees to destination trees. This backup software will copy any files and folders which may have changed since the last time the program was run. Files and folders which have changed, are only copied. This free file and folder saver, scans the list of source directories and searches for changes. For example, it will scan the contents of Windows “My documents” and keep this particular folder up-to-date.

Bart is not limited to providing only one directory backup service, it is also able to scan other data stored on your hard disk in other locations. Indeed this backup tool is able to be adapted for folders and files on network drives on another machine. Using it on a second hard drive is also easily set up. For those who prefer mobility; Bart is able to be installed and set to run on a USB drive, also.

When you first run the application, Bart will copy all files and folders on your computer. During subsequent runs, this free file and folder backup program will only copy files or folders that have been altered or updated since the last time the program was run. Files or folders which have been marked for deletion, will remove from the system by the software.

It is important to remember that Bart keeps target files and folders in complete tune with the source files and folders. The program is not designed to perform two-way synchronization. This is to say, if a file or folder is changed in the target directory, Bart will replace it with the same file from the source directory. This means, that changing a target file or folder is pointless unless you also change the source folder and file. It therefore makes sense to make your changes to folders and files in the source directory, run Bart and have the target directories updated by this free file and folder backup tool.

The source can be either a single file or folder or a complete directory. Should you choose a directory as your source, then make sure you check the boxes so that sub-directories can also be updated and copied. Multiple directories and sub-directories are able to be chosen at one time; leading to having all your data backed up at once.

The destination source, as mentioned above, is kept in synchronization with the source directory. Making any changes in the destination directory is an exercise in futility, as anything changed in the destination directory will be over-written from the source directory. As mentioned above, do not make changes to the destination directory.

Bart also allows you to segregate files and folders that you want the backup application to ignore. For example if you want to back up photos but leave out thumbnail files, the pattern “thumbs” would be added. You can choose multiple files by using the * option. These multiple files could have such extensions as *obj, *pdb, *aps, *sbr, *pch, and so forth. Full path names may be excluded simply by specifying the entire path name. The following example explains: “d:\photos\2004;thumbs*;00_index*.*gif” would omit the 2004 folder and also pass over any files with the name “thumbs” or “00_index as well as any file ending with gif.

You are also able to exclude entire directories by specifying the directory’s path. For example: c:\program files\firewall. Excluding files by their file name is another option. For example: “software.conf” This command will only exclude that one file from backup or updating.

Bart keeps an HTML based log file (log.html) of all its operations on your computer. When the backup file and folder software has completed its task, a balloon pops-up in the Windows task-tray informing you that the task is complete.